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Welfare Reform Bill

We have had an extremely wide-ranging and well informed debate from the noble Lords, Lord Skelmersdale and Lord Ramsbotham, the noble Baronesses, Lady Thomas, Lady Meacher, Lady Afshar and Lady Murphy, and the noble Countess, Lady Mar. I understand the aims of this laudable amendment, and the Government do indeed take it seriously. However, we have a number of difficulties associated with it. The amendment seeks to ensure that everyone with a diagnosed mental health condition should be assessed before they carry out any work-related activity, so that any reasonable adjustments are made once someone finds work. This is unnecessary, in the sense that we already cover this ground; I will obviously go on to expand on that. It duplicates existing provision, is impractical and would introduce extra bureaucracy and quite serious cost. It is unnecessary because we already assess an individual’s needs and have provision in place to ensure that they are met. We do this in a number of ways. The noble Baroness, Lady Afshar, talked about the importance of keeping flexibility in the system and keeping that relationship personal. Within the employment and support allowance, as part of the work capability assessment, we carry out a work-focused health-related assessment. This assessment explores the impact of a claimant’s health condition and their barriers to work. This assessment is carried out in a face-to-face interview with the claimant by a health professional, and the outcome is then passed on to the personal adviser. In addition to this, work-focused interviews are designed especially to discuss positive steps towards work. In many cases, this will involve a discussion around the need for particular adjustments to be made should an individual move into a job. Support through Pathways to Work provides help to move closer to the labour market, and to look for work. Clause 8 will give a personal adviser the power to direct a customer to a work-related activity in prescribed circumstances. This direction must be reasonable, having regard to a person’s circumstances. This will of course include the customer’s health condition. An additional assessment, therefore, is not necessary given that Clause 8 will cover these areas. Access to work already provides an assessment for anyone who may require in-work support once they have a job offer or a job interview.